Young leaders get a jump start on their degrees in Early Childhood Careers

Ashley Gonzalez and Lorena Lopez, both from Hoover High School, earn their Child Development Associate Credentials. With them are Pam Mahoney from Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children and Central Campus ECC Instructor Younghee Steenhoek.

This is the third year students enrolled in Central Campus Early Childhood Careers program earned national credentials, Child Development Associate. The CDA Credential, an industry standard in the early childhood education field, was opened up as an option for high school students in 2011. It takes a strong commitment to the rigorous nature of the program in order to earn the credential and this is one reason why only a few students do so each year. The CDA requires 120 hours of education, 480 work experience hours with children ages birth to 5 years, completion of a professional portfolio, and a formal assessment process including a verification visit and exam. Seniors Ashley Gonzalez and Lorena Lopez, both from Hoover High School, completed the two-year Early Childhood Careers program at Central Campus – proving themselves to be the #BestofTheBest. Through this program, they graduate this spring with more than 21 college credits from DMACC, giving them a jump start as they continue working toward early childhood degrees this fall.